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In just a few words: I’m loving my new La Sportiva Kaptiva shoes! I have to admit though, I am a longtime fan of the La Sportiva range and came into the review with a little bit of bias. However, I’ve put them through a lot of punishment over the recent weeks and there’s little I can fault in them.

When I first received a pair to trial I was pleased to see the pronounced lugs for traction. I was also curious about the sock-like inner and the fact that these looked as though they were made for both comfort & speed. It’s a tough combination to pull off. Usually shoes skew in one direction or the other, and often that makes them more of a lightweight trainer instead of a racing shoe. But I was pleasantly surprised to find the Kaptiva was ideal for the sort of racing I mostly do – shorter events up to a few hours duration, where the trails are technical with plenty of climbing.

Putting them on for the first time was a treat. The sock-like fit is awesome and made the shoe fit snugly around my foot. It makes your feet feel very secure, which is really important for mountain & sky running. The last thing you want is to be sliding around inside your kicks. You need a firmer fit that gives you confidence on the trails.

For the sake of consistency, I test all trail shoes on a marked loop in my local area. It has a bit of everything, from steep climbing and descending, traversing gravelly stuff, rock gardens and on the first day of this trial, some overnight rain added some mud into the mix. The Kaptivas handled it all really well. To me they felt like a road shoe with trail grip. Light and responsive but still possessing excellent stability and comfort. I finished the run with the thought that this is my new “Race” shoe for my 2019 season of mountain running.